Golden Gate Bridge traffic barriers will improve traffic flow

September 14, 2015

The serious congestion across north San Francisco each weekday afternoon is about to change. Golden Gate Bridge officials will increase flow to improve your regular evening commute lane configuration on the Golden Gate Bridge. They expect this lane configuration will help better balance traffic congestion across the Bridge during these busy weekday hours. The new Presidio Parkway project completion is driving the change. And, it almost makes the recent increase in the bridge toll tolerable. At least this time, commuters will be getting something for their dollar.

Beginning on September 8th, 2015, drivers will typically encounter four northbound lanes and two southbound lanes during the evening commute, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The current norm is three northbound lanes and three southbound lanes. While four north/two south will be the new regular configuration, drivers should know there may be occasional unexpected changes to the configuration based on emergencies, accidents, or unusual traffic conditions. Those deviations from the regular pattern will be sent via Twitter notifications from @GGBridgeAlerts.

The changes comes after efforts to configure Bridge lanes were based on customers recent experience with growing Bay Area traffic, and their knowledge of seasonal traffic patterns, and the completion of major roadwork involved with the Presidio Parkway project.

Staff at the bridge will be carefully monitoring impacts on southbound traffic and will evaluate the effectiveness of these measures regularly. In mid-November, they will review the metrics and determine if any adjustments are warranted.

The net effect on traffic in Marin County itself remains to be seen, as there are no projections about how that will unfold.